Pedestrian struck, killed on I-81

MONTGOMERY COUNTY – Southbound traffic was backed up for several miles on Interstate 81 in Montgomery County Wednesday morning after a man was struck by multiple vehicles and killed.

Virginia State Police Sgt. Bob Carpentieri said authorities are uncertain how the male victim came to be on the interstate. As of Wednesday afternoon his identity was unknown.

The man was hit by at least two, and possibly three, vehicles at mile marker 108 near the Route 787 (Dry Valley Road) bridge overpass about 6:40 a.m., according to Carpentieri. He said the body was taken to the medical examiner’s office in Roanoke for identification.

Traffic was rerouted through Radford well into the afternoon. Carpentieri wasn’t sure when it would be reopened. He explained that the fire department was “hosing down” the road and the pavement would have to be treated with chemicals to make sure no slick patches developed.

No one was injured in the vehicles that struck the man, Carpentieri said.

Shortly after the wreck, Virginia Department of Transportation was reporting that both southbound lanes and the exit ramp were closed.